TITLE II – THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATIONUnofficial Revised Version Effective February 20th, 2012 Pending SBP Signature
CHAPTER 001 -- THE CONSTITUTION OF THE TEXAS A&M STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
Amended by S.B. 09(S)11, S.B. 09(S)34, S.B. 09(F)04, S.B. 09(F)06, S.B. 09(F)15, S.B. 63-70, S.B. 63-71, S.B. 63-100, S.B. 64-30
We, the students of Texas A&M University, in order to provide an officially recognized student organization that identifies and represents student interests, promotes student participation in the overall policy and decision-making processes of the University, enhances the quality and scope of education at the University, and promotes the general welfare of the student body, do hereby adopt and establish this Constitution.
ARTICLE I. THE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION
section I. This organization shall be known as the Student Government Association of Texas A&M University.
section II. The Student Government Association shall represent the student body, which consists of all students at Texas A&M University, and shall exercise its authority through this Constitution as hereafter provided.
section III. The governing structure of the Student Government Association of Texas A&M University shall consist of the following three distinct branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. In order to provide for an effective system of checks and balance no person may concurrently serve in two or more of the following positions: Student Body President, member of the executive cabinet, Student Senator, or Justice of the Judicial Court.
section IV. General Definitions. For the purposes of this Constitution the terms:
(a) “Student(s)” shall be defined as any individual student or group of students who are duly enrolled in at least one (1) credit hour at Texas A&M University.
(1) “Student Body” shall be defined as all students at Texas A&M University.
(b) “Member of the Student Government Association” shall be defined as any student occupying any office within the Student Government Association pursuant to this Constitution, any statute enacted by the Student Senate, or under any rule or procedure enacted pursuant to this Constitution or under any rule or procedure enacted pursuant to any statute.
(c) “Announced Meeting” shall be defined as any meeting held with at least one (1) day’s notice to the membership of the entity conducting the meeting, including a tentative agenda of the items to be discussed and the location and the time of the meeting.
(d) “Day” shall be defined as one twenty-four (24) hour intervening period of time as determined under the central standard time zone (CST) in the United States, adjusted for daylight savings time called for by the laws of the United States.
(e) “Fall or Spring Academic Semester(s)” shall be defined as the term of classes at Texas A&M University lasting during the months of August to December for the fall semester and January to May for the spring semester, but shall not include those classes lasting from May to August (summer semester) or those classes occurring between the end of the fall semester and the beginning of the immediately following spring semester (winter semester).
(f) A rule or procedure “enacted pursuant to this Constitution” shall be defined as the Student Senate By-Laws, the Judicial Branch By-Laws, the Executive Branch By-Laws, and the Governance Council By-Laws, and a rule or procedure “enacted pursuant to any statute” shall be defined as any rule or procedure authorized under, or in accordance with, any statute enacted by the Student Senate or authorized under, or in accordance with, any agreement entered into by the Student Body President and ratified by the Student Senate.
section V. All members of the Student Government Association in office at the conclusion of a fall or spring academic semester shall continue to remain in office at the beginning of the immediately following spring or fall academic semester, notwithstanding the failure of the member to enroll in classes during the intervening winter semester or summer semester, whichever is applicable. This Section shall not apply if the member’s particular term in office expires at the conclusion of a fall or spring academic semester.
ARTICLE II. EXECUTIVE BRANCH
section I. All executive powers shall be vested in the Student Body President of the Student Government Association of Texas A&M University. A primary charge of the Student Body President and the Executive Branch shall be the timely implementation of all statutes enacted by the Student Senate.
section II. The Executive Branch shall be organized in the following manner:
(a) The chief executive officer shall be the Student Body President who shall be elected from the student body by a majority vote during the spring student body elections as provided for by statute.
(b) The term of the Student Body President shall be in accordance with the length of the term of his or her corresponding session of the Student Senate, but the power of appointment for the incoming session of the Student Senate shall accrue to the Student Body President for the incoming session of the Student Senate immediately upon his or her election.
(c) The Student Body President shall have been enrolled at and in good standing with Texas A&M University for at least three (3) academic semesters (fall or spring) preceding his or her election to office. The spring academic semester during which the Student Body President is elected to office shall count towards this total.
(d) If the Student Body President is unable or unwilling to continue serving as Student Body President or to assume office, the office shall fall to the Speaker of the Senate, then to the Speaker Pro-Tempore of the Senate, and finally to the Senate Rules and Regulations Chair. If none of these are willing and able to serve, then a member of the executive cabinet shall be elected by a majority vote of the members of the executive cabinet present and voting at an announced meeting and confirmed by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting.
(1) If the process above does not fill the position, then a special election shall be held within fourteen (14) days to elect a new Student Body President by the student body. The Student Senate shall, in the interim through an emergency special session, elect a Student Senator by a majority vote of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting to serve as acting Student Body President until a new Student Body President is elected. The acting Student Body President shall keep his or her seat in the Senate during this period, and the acting Student Body President shall have all of the duties and powers of the Student Body President.
(2) Each officer in the line of succession shall have forty-eight (48) hours to accept or decline the position of Student Body President by written and signed notification to the Chief Justice.
section III. The duties and powers of the Student Body President shall include the following:
(a) Signing or vetoing all statutes and constitutional amendments passed by the Student Senate within seven (7) days. Any statute or constitutional amendment not signed or vetoed within seven ([5]7) days shall be considered signed or approved. This veto power shall not extend to Student Senate resolutions, any rule or procedure enacted pursuant to this Constitution or any rule or procedure enacted pursuant to any statute, or statutes or constitutional amendments approved in a referendum.
(b) Faithfully executing all statutes enacted by the Student Senate for which the Student Body President shall be responsible to the Student Senate.
(c) Acting as the ceremonial representative of the student body.
(d) Organizing and appointing members of an executive cabinet, which shall serve at the discretion of the Student Body President, subject to confirmation of two-thirds (2/3) of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting.
(1) A “member of the executive cabinet” shall be defined as any student appointed by the Student Body President and confirmed by the Student Senate who shall advise and assist the Student Body President on performing the Student Body President’s duties and powers under this Constitution or such additional duties and powers of the Student Body President as may be established by statute in accordance with this Constitution and noted as delegable or assignable by the particular statute.
(2) No member of the executive branch, however, may be assigned or delegated the Student Body President’s signing, veto, appointment, special session, contractual agreement, executive order, or proclamations of opinion powers, except in the case of the appointment of committee chairs, commissioners, or other executive offices as may be established by statute.
(e) Appointing all executive branch committee chairs and commissioners of committees and commissions established by the Student Senate by statute, which shall serve in accordance with the statutes. The Student Body President may also appoint other executive offices as may be established by the Student Senate by statute, which shall serve in accordance with the statutes, unless the Student Senate, by statute, vests power for their appointment in a committee chair, commissioner, or member of the executive cabinet. Alternatively, the Student Senate may, by statute, allow committee chairs, commissioners, or other executive offices to be elected by the student body, or any subset of the student body.
(f) Appointing any student, including Student Senators and Justices of the Judicial Court, to student positions on Texas A&M University and System Committees subject to confirmation of two-thirds (2/3) of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting. Such students appointed and confirmed shall serve in their committee positions in accordance with the statutes.
(g) Establishing such rules and procedures for the Executive Branch as may be authorized under, and in accordance with, the statutes through a signed executive order amending the Executive Branch By-Laws. Such rules and procedures shall not expire unless a provision within the rule or procedure provides for its expiration; it is repealed or superseded by a subsequent statute enacted by the Student Senate or a subsequent rule or procedure adopted by the Student Body President authorized under, and in accordance with, the statutes; or it is ruled unconstitutional or contrary to the statutes by the Judicial Court in a case.
(1) The Student Body President may also issue non-binding proclamations of the opinion the Student Body President by signed executive order that shall expire at the conclusion of each corresponding session of the Student Senate.
(h) Entering into agreements with entities outside the Student Government Association subject to ratification by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting. Such agreements shall have the same effect and legal status under this Constitution as a statute passed by the Student Senate and signed by the Student Body President, but such agreements shall not contradict or alter any provision of this Constitution. All agreements shall be codified into the Student Government Association Code until they are repealed by the Student Body President or expire.
(i) Reporting to the Student Senate at every regularly scheduled general assembly meeting the status of all enacted statutes for the session of the Student Senate, the state of the student body, the operations of the Student Government, and for the purpose of answering questions. If unable to attend a general assembly meeting, the Student Body President shall send a member of the executive cabinet to report to the Student Senate.
(j) Calling special sessions of the Student Senate if deemed necessary by the Student Body President.
(k) Presenting a specific vision for the upcoming year to the Student Senate at the first general assembly meeting of the fall academic semester.
(l) Presiding over the incoming Student Senate until the Speaker of the Senate is elected, or delegating this duty to another student. Whether or not this duty is delegated, the student who presides over the incoming Student Senate until the Speaker of the Senate is elected may not be
a Student Senator during that meeting of the incoming Student Senate, nor may the student serve as a character witness or speaker for any candidate for Speaker of the Senate.
(m) The Student Body President shall be ultimately responsible for the lack of timely implementation of any statute enacted by the Student Senate.
ARTICLE III. LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
section I. All legislative powers shall be vested in the Student Senate of the Student Government Association of Texas A&M University. The Student Senate shall be the official body which shall identify student opinion and formulate student policy.
section II. The Student Senate shall be organized in the following manner:
(a) The Student Senate shall be composed of Academic Area, Living Area, and Freshman Senators. Academic Senators shall be elected by a plurality vote from their respective constituencies based upon college representation. Living Area Senators shall be elected by a plurality vote from their respective constituencies based upon their official residence. Academic Area Senators, and Living Area Senators shall be elected during the spring student body elections as provided for by statute. Freshman Senators shall be elected at-large by a plurality vote of the Freshman Class during the fall student body elections as provided for by statute.
(b) The presiding officer of the Student Senate shall be the Speaker of the Senate, who shall be nominated and elected by a majority vote of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting prior to the end of the spring academic semester. The Speaker Pro-Tempore, the Chair of Rules and Regulations, and all other officers of the Senate provided for in the Student Senate By-Laws shall also be nominated and elected by a majority vote of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting prior to the end of the spring academic semester.
(1) All officers of the Senate shall remain Student Senators upon their election, but officers of the Senate may be removed from their officer position by a two-thirds (2/3rds) vote of the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting.
(c) If the Speaker of the Senate is unable to fulfill the duties of office, or upon his or her removal or resignation from office, the Speaker Pro-Tempore shall fulfill those duties until a new Speaker can be elected from the Student Senate membership present and voting at an announced meeting. In the absence of the Speaker Pro-Tempore, such duties shall fall to the Chair of Rules and Regulations and then to the remaining officers of the Senate provided for in the Student Senate By-Laws in an order provided for in the Student Senate By-Laws.